Bishop Stang grad 'had so much love to give'

People who knew Sarah Phenix Brewer said that whether she was tutoring youngsters with autism, organizing a closet for her blind, widowed mother or running a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, her goal was simple: to help other people achieve their dreams.

People who knew Sarah Phenix Brewer said that whether she was tutoring youngsters with autism, organizing a closet for her blind, widowed mother or running a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, her goal was simple: to help other people achieve their dreams.

At the time of her death July 31, the 26-year-old had managed to fulfill many of her own, in the face of enormous odds.

Brewer beat cancer three times, got a master's degree in occupational therapy from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and was promoted from counselor to camp director at Dream Day on Cape Cod in Brewster.

Then — less than three weeks before a fourth and fatal bout of cancer this summer — Brewer donned a white Grecian-style gown and married Christopher Brewer of Hanson in a backyard wedding attended by 110 guests.

Now family, friends and colleagues at Dream Day, on Rafe Pond near Nickerson State Park, are struggling to deal with the loss of Sarah.

"She packed so much into 26 years of life," said Christopher "Chris" Brewer, facilities manager at Dream Day. She had so much love to give — such a big heart."

Growing up in New Bedford with blind parents Lorraine and Phillip Phenix, Sarah lost her dad to a heart attack shortly after she was diagnosed with a type of cancer known as Wilms' tumor at age 4½.

She beat recurrences at ages 10 and 21, Lorraine Phenix said. "She was just a dynamo. When she got focused on something, that was it."

Graduating from Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth, Sarah went on to get undergraduate and graduate degrees from Quinnipiac.

The recipients of her love and caring included the children at Dream Day, which runs one-week residential camps in Brewster for children with serious illnesses and their families.

She and her husband first met in a similar setting. In August 2003, they were campers at the Hole in the Wall Gang in Connecticut, which Paul Newman founded for children with serious illnesses.

"I was drawn to her," said Chris, who has hemophilia. "We ended up dancing at the dance."

The two tried to continue dating, but as teenagers living in separate towns — New Bedford and Hanson — it was hard to maintain a relationship.

They reconnected as a sort of a "fluke" in 2009 when Sarah re-imaged her computer and an old instant messenger link popped up on Chris' screen, prompting him to contact her.

He proposed to her at his parents' house in Hanson on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day Sarah flew with his family to Florida for vacation. "She loved anything Disney," Chris said.

But in February, Sarah was back at Children's Hospital in Boston to have a tumor on her bladder removed.

Doctors thought it was easily treated, Lorraine Phenix said. But then a surgeon found more tumors in Sarah's abdomen, Phenix said. "They knew there was really nothing they could do for that," she said.

Sarah and Chris pushed up the date of their wedding one year to July 5 and got married in Chris' backyard. A short honeymoon at the Hanson family cabin in Vermont ended with the young bride back at Children's Hospital. She died July 31 in her husband's arms.

"We're all still processing it," Dream Day of Cape Cod Executive Director Kathleen Giorgio said. "Sarah was the heart and soul of Dream Day."

"Her whole life was dedicated to taking care of other people," Dream Day board member Donald Siddell said. "She was something special. She really is an embodiment of what a human being should be."